Just One Moment
by Cold Fire Phoenix
Summary: Naruto strikes back at Sasuke by conversing with Sai while Sakura runs interference... and sees a bit of humanity in the familiar stranger.


Sakura allowed her eyes to close, mentally cataloging the aches and pains her body held on to with surprising tenacity. She figured she would be fairly bruised in the morning if she left herself untended. _Then again,_ she thought to herself, welcoming the all-pervasive heat of the hot springs, _Bonus perk to being a medical kunoichi - the ability to do away with pesky bruises._ A wry smile crossed her lips as she lapsed into mental silence.

The low drone of voices from the other side of the hot springs told Sakura her teammates were still tolerating each other's company. One voice rose above the rest, cutting clearly through the steam and hopeful stillness.

"Bastard! Don't tell me what I can't do!"

A soft response followed, though Sakura couldn't make out the words. Her guess was Sasuke, since the next thing she heard was Naruto announcing his leaving - along with Sai.

Sasuke must have said something to really piss Naruto off, if the blonde was willingly consorting with Sai. Still, as Sakura sat up, noting the slight pruning of her fingers and toes, animosity within their four-man team was subdued. Currently, they were breaking from reality. The two month's they'd been on the move tracking down insubordinates and clues of where the final remnants of the Akatsuki were hiding away wore them down in strange ways. Maybe it was like drawing closer to inevitability. Sakura worried for Naruto. Sasuke... Sasuke, too.

At least Itachi... At least he was out of the way. Sasuke had said as much.

Sakura was inclined to believe him.

She drew the fresh yukata provided by the inn tightly around her, sliding into her slippers as she stepped out into the hall. She headed toward their shared room, coming upon Sai and Naruto in the hall. Naruto was brooding, Sai idly following him.

"Really," Sai said, the pleasant smile he often affected on his face, "You act very threatened by Sasuke, Naruto. Is it because he has a larger penis than you?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow as Naruto scowled and pushed Sai into the room they were all sharing. The door slammed shut as Naruto retorted. "**He does not! What is with you and penises?**"

Strange. Stranger still when Naruto slid the door open again to stick his head out and eye Sakura. "Nobody disturb us." His face looked strangely determined. "This is my "alone time.""

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow, about to protest. After all, it was _their_ room, implying for all of them. Naruto had shut the door again before she could speak. "Naruto..." she half growled, though the anger was slow to build. She was still far too relaxed.

Not everyone had the same languidity. "Naruto!" Sasuke was marching down the hall, a shadowed expression on his face. The small bath towel provided by the Inn was wrapped tightly around his hips.

Looking up, Sakura had a brief moment where she felt her cheeks color. She caught Sasuke's gaze, figuring part of the blonde shinobi's prank as he came closer. No yukata - Naruto had likely grabbed Sasuke's on his way out of the hot springs. She couldn't decide if this was a good or bad thing.

Sasuke frowned, pausing beside her. "Naruto is in there?" He indicated the room, though he needn't have bothered. Her nod was quick enough in answering. Sasuke pursed his lips and moved forward, reaching for the door handle.

Sakura grabbed his wrist, preventing him from sliding the door open. "Don't," she warned. "Naruto takes his alone time very seriously. So does Sai."

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow in mute query. Sakura shook her head. He closed his eyes, dismissing his brief spark of irritation. "Do you know what the fuck-"

"No," she interrupted. "And I don't plan on asking."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, briefly glaring at the door. Then it was as if a curtain had dropped over his features. Perfect calm. Sakura hated when it happened. There was something... closed off and distant about her friend when his face went so passive. It wasn't due to real peace, she knew - and perhaps that is what disturbed her.

There was silence between them for a moment, a contemplation of the closed door and the closed options that had littered their lives. After a while, it was more than Sakura chose to bear.

"I'll ask the hostess for a spare yukata." She turned to go, but felt, rather than heard, him fall into step slightly behind her. "You can wait here," she said after a moment.

"And stare at a door? No." It was his final word on the subject. And even if it hadn't been his intent, Sakura allowed herself to smile. Brief, unintended moments like this - with him - meant much to her. For years she had pushed herself, as Naruto had, to bring him home. Even if that home traveled on four sets of legs, across a dangerous and dynamic world.

He watched her silently, unobtrusively. She knew it - she was sensitive to everything he did. She was picking up his new, different, strangely familiar habits as time passed. He never spoke of Orochimaru. She was patient. Maybe, someday, he would.

His hand shot out to grab her arm, and a bit more roughly than intended, pull her to the side. A small child cleared the corner right in front of them, still nearly running into Sakura. The little boy looked up with bright eyes, stuck his thumb on his nose, and blew a raspberry. Sakura refrained from calling him a little brat as he raced on down the hallway. Sasuke's hand still rested on her arm, holding her still. A moment later, the mother, who Sakura had heard coming, burst around the corner. She looked harried, giving them both a brief glance before looking past them and spotting sight of her child.

She, too, was off within seconds.

For whatever the reason, both their heads turned to watch her disappear down the hall. It was comical, the expression on her son's face as he realized his mother was right on him. He shrieked, and Sakura laughed despite herself.

To her immense surprise, beside her, Sasuke smiled. It was small, but her eyes didn't deceive her. Sakura felt her chest constrict. She hadn't seen him smile for three years.

Her own smile brightened. There would be better times, she knew, with more certainty than ever. "Come, Sasuke-kun," she said, voice light with amusement. "Let's make you decent." And in some ways, it was a promise that danced between them. The promise of life.

Meanwhile, in the room, Naruto frowned down at Sai. "No, no, you're doing it all wrong! It's not supposed to hurt!"

Sai looked up from where he knelt at Naruto's feet. "It appears the point of this game is lessened by your being here. It is called Solitaire, and yet I am not Solitary."

"So what," huffed Naruto. "I just have never won a game by myself, and that bastard Sasuke..." He clenched his fist. "I refuse to lose to him!"

Frankly, Sai didn't care. Though he did, sort of, understand this version of sibling rivalry. Then again... Solitaire?


End file.
